I would like to point out one of the finer points of fantasy football. Of course you know about balance in terms of not loading up on a single position. But I suggest there is a finer balance than this, and it comes in the form of player compensation (and not the monetary type but one player on a team picking up the slack for another player). If this seems esoteric for now, let me try to clarify using myself as an example.
Last year the Vikings were a good team, there's no doubt about that. Adrian Peterson had a career year and so did Brett Favre, Sidney Rice, and Visanthe Shiancoe. There were plenty of points to go around. Because of this, and the fact that I had Peterson, it benefited me greatly that I had Rice as well. The thinking is this, although I limit myself in the ability to put up ridiculous numbers with my top WR and RB on the same team, I also make my team more consistent. It would have been better for me to have Favre and Peterson instead of Rice and Peterson simply because I could really get points from basically every bit of offense and not just the receptions by Rice and the rushes by Peterson. I also did the same thing with Derrick Mason and Ray Rice. The idea: find a high-powered offense and get two players on it (one in the passing game and one in the running game).
Contrast this to Everett's team. This was also a great team last year, but there were NO players on his roster playing for the same team. This led to some ridiculous weeks (week 2 for example with 224 points), but also wild swings from one week to the next (week 1 he only scored 72 points).
On the other hand, it is a bad thing to roster more than one RB or WR on the same team other than handcuffs. If the passing game or running game is shut down, both players suffer. Moreover, it can be maddening trying to figure out which RB to start (ask Ben or Tyler).
Finally, it is not necessary to roster players from the same team if you can find a favorable matchup schedule which serves the same purpose. This, however, is much more difficult than getting two players on the same team.
Just DO NOT draft more than two players on the same team if you plan on starting all of them. This can be a disaster. Just see my '08 draft (i.e. worst draft in history) for evidence of this plan backfiring.
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7 years ago
Great post.
ReplyDeleteI think you really brought up an interesting theory, especially with Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart this year. It has long* been recognized that you could start both Deangelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart against a moderately bad to bad run defense. However, in the past you could use a first rounder on DWill and draft Stewart as the handcuff in the 8th round or later, after you've secured at least two other RBS.
This year, Stewart could be gone by the fourth or fifth round. Now, does Dwill's owner value another RB on the same team as a sometimes starter, and important handcuff enough to draft him that highly? Or, will DWill's owner decide to let the handcuff go, spend the pick on a starter from another team, and hope DWill stays healthy?
It's going to be a tough call.
*Long dates back to when I had then both on my team, not when Tyler had them both on his team.
Man, I would love to see J. Stewart and D. Williams on different teams. As far as I am concerned, they are easily two of the top 10 backs in the league. I also think that Carolina has so many problems, they really can't afford to keep both of them.
ReplyDeleteAlas, I think this is a situation where the D. Williams owner has to let Stewart go. Both owners are taking a gamble as far as I am concerned, but, frankly, I would rather gamble on J. Stewart with a 4-5th rounder than a 1st rounder on Williams.
Unlike Chris Johnson and Lendale White, both of these guys share the same role. Both guys are game-breakers. Both guys can get tough yards. Although Stewart is probably a little better at the goal-line, and D. Williams is a little better between the 20's, it's still a toss-up regarding who will be in where. With the former pair, at least you could get serviceable numbers from Lendale from the TD's and CJ from the yards.